hip hop

ip-Hop When you hear the phrase “hip-hop” what comes to mind? Baggy jeans, gangster rap, flashy jewelry, or a menacing noise that the new generation of punk kids call music? These are a few stereotypes which people have been led to believe define Hip-hop. In reality Hip-hop is none of these.


To define hip-hop is very difficult, as many views and opinions are taken on the subject. The most popular is to define hip-hop as a culture, but then the argument begins as what is to be accepted as in that culture. Chuck D states that even though hip-hop originated as a musical style, it has been applied to black culture since 1975. Most hip-hop enthusiasts claim hip-hop is not black culture, but merely part of it; just as it is a part of Hispanic culture, Asian culture, white culture, and many others. They argue that although a majority of the rappers we see on TV may be African American, there are many parts of hip-hop culture that are not predominately black. In particular, DJs,...